Ventilated trousers



g- 20, 1953 J. P. GALLAGHER 3,397,407

VENTILATED TROUSERS Filed June 16, 1966 INVENTOR JOHN R GALLAGHER BY #MATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,397,407 VENTILATED TROUSERS JohnIE-Gallagher, 2415 Foxhall Road NW., Washington, D.C. 20007 June 16,1966, Ser. No; 557,996

1 Claim. (Cl. 2 227 Fil ed ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A plurality ofelongated slot-like openings are provided in trousers just below thebelt band which openings have their long axes generally parallel to thebelt band and fabric internal covers provided for the slots so that theypresent a neat appearance when the slots are open during movement of thewearer.

This inventiomrelates to improved clothing-and in particular to trousersprovided with unique ventilating means to thereby provide effectiveventilation in hot climate clothing. 1

Clothing acts as a barrier to heat transfer in either direction that is,in radiation of heat to a body and in loss of metabolic heat from thebody to the outside atmosphere.

The design and configuration of clothing is often dictated on the basisof fashion rather than on physiology and physics and therefore, hotclimate clothing, particularly for the male, has poor functionalproperties as far as heat regulation of the body is concerned. The needfor clothing based on designs dictated by physiology and physics ratherthan on the basis of fashion is particu larly important in extremedemands of military service.

It is known that the feet represent about 7% of the total area of ahuman body, the legs 13%, the thighs about 9% and the lower half of thetrunk about 18%. Therefore, from the waist down comprises about 57% ofthe total body area of a man. This factor coupled with the fact thatabout 50%of human sweat is derived from the trunk and 25% from the lowerextremities, it is extremely important to provide ample ventilation forthe lower trunk and the lower extremities in order to provide effectivecomfort and efficiency control in clothing.

The temperature of different parts of the body is also known to varysubstantially. For example, the temperature of normal human feet isvabout ,87? F., the temperature of the legs is about 89 F., the thighs isabout 89.5 F., while the trunk portion of the body is normally at about93 F. Since insensible evaporative heat loss from the skin is almostentirely determined by skin temperature, when there is not ventilationabout the body the moisture of the environment rises substantially andevaporation decreases as the vapor tension difference is reduced. Thusin order to properly cool the body ventilation should be providedparticularly in the trunk area.

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to providean improved trouser construction which will permit circulation orventilation of air about the legs and lower trunk or waist of the wearerand such construction wherein the amount of ventilation increases asactivity of the wearer increases.

A further particular object ofthe present invention is to provideventilated trousers which will substantially improve the wearers comfortand efficiency in hot climates.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription of the invention which in general terms comprises trousersconsisting of a waist portion, leg portions, and a belt band, aplurality of slot-like openings in spaced circumferential arrangement insaid waist portion immediately below the belt band, each of saidopenings providing communication between the outside and the insidesurfaces of said trousers to provide ventilation for the legs and waistof the wearer of the trousers.

The invention will be more particularly described in reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of the lower portion of thebody of a human clothed in trousers constructed in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the back portion of thewaist and belt band of the trousers illustrated in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged section on line 33 of FIGURE 2.

Referring to the drawings 10 generally designates the lower portion of ahuman and 12 designates a pair of trousers incorporating the principlesof the present invention. The trousers 12 include a belt band 14, awaist portion 16, and leg portions 18, The belt or waistband 14, in theillustrated form of the invention, includes conventional belt loops 20and the trousers are attached by a belt shown at 22. The waist portion16 includes a fly or lap portion 24, side pockets 26, rear pockets 2-6'and ventilating slots or openings 28. The leg portions 18 are shown withconventional cuffs 30.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 3, the ventilating slots 28 consist ofa number of elongated slot-like openings which are circumferentiallyspaced in the waist portion immediately below the belt band and the beltloops 20. Each of the ventilating slots 28, in the preferred form of theinvention, includes a refolded seam portion 34, and an internal flap orcover 36. The internal flap 36 is an integral extension of the band 14and is therefore comprised of the same fabric as the trousers to presenta neat appearance to the trousers such that when the slots are openedduring movement of the wearer only the material of the trousers isexposed.

In operation of the improved vents air is permitted to circulate in, forexample, chimney-like fashion up through the openings at the lower endsof the leg portions 18, flowing past the lower and upper legs and thelower portion of the trunk, and then out of the plurality of the vents28. It will be appreciated that as motion or move ment of the wearerincreases the greater the opportunity for the slot-like openings toopen, thus permitting a greater circulation of ventilating air.

While the form of the upper vents illustrated in FIG- URES 1, 2 and 3 ofthe drawings are particularly adapted for both appearance and utility,where fashion or appearance is not a particular factor, that is introusers to be worn by the armed services personnel in the field, theflap 36 may be omitted and the openings designated by reference number38 may be substantially increased. Where additional strength is desiredan open mesh may be sewn across the openings 38 to add strength to theimproved trousers.

It is also contemplated that each of the slot-like openings may beprovided with a separable fastener such as a zipper so that the openingsmay be closed during cold weather use of the trousers, and opened duringwarm weather use of the trousers when the slots are to becomefunctional.

From the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications may be made in the form of the ventilating slotswithout departing from the scope of the present invention as defined inthe appended claim.

I claim:

1. Fabric trousers comprising a waist portion, leg portions, a belt bandand means forming a plurality of slotlike openings in the fabric inspaced'circumferential arrangement in said waist portion adjacent thebelt band, each of said formed slot-like openings having a substantiallygreater length than width with the length dimension extending generallyparallel to the belt band of the trousers, each of the openingsproviding communication between the outside and inside surfaces of saidtrousers to provide ventilation for the legs and waist of the wearer,and a fabric internal cover integral with said belt band and comprisedof the same fabric as the trousers extending loosely downwardly fromsaid belt band over said slot-like openings and presenting from theoutside a fabric configuration even when said slot-like openings areexpanded.

References Cited UNITED STA ES PATENTS 7/1944 Barone.

12/1945 Zelano 2227 XR 5/ 1947 Lewis 2-227 3/1955 Lawson 2227 XR 7/1962Lash et a1 2-1 FOREIGN PA ENTS 5/1953 Germany.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, PrimaryEx amirt er.

H. H. HUNTER, Assistant Examiner.

